Kobe Bryant Comments On His Injury
Apr 12, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant (24) is helped up by teammates against the Golden State Warriors during the game at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
Kobe Bryant talked to the media after suffering a probable Achilles tear on Friday night. It is rare to see Bryant in such an emotional state, as he was naturally devastated and you could see the pain in his eyes. Here are the highlights of his interview:
On going down: “Just terrible. Terrible feeling man.”
On the injury: “Not much to take you through…Made a move I’ve made a million times…It just popped.”
Biggest disappointment of his career: “Yea, by far. We worked so hard to put ourselves in a position where we can control our own fate. I’ve prepared myself…It’s just shit luck.”
Team without him: “Just continue to play. We have been dealing with injuries all year. I’ll do what I can, watching film, preparing and communicating to the guys of the best ways of attacking certain teams. Just go from there.”
Can he play through this?: “I can’t…I can’t walk. I tried to put pressure on my heel, see if I can do it that way, but there is just nothing there.”
Impact on his future: “I’m not really sure, I’ve never had to deal with something like this. Obviously there have been a bunch of players who have had the same injury. All I can do is look at them and look at what they’ve done and who had more success coming back quicker and healthier, see what they did and see if I can improve upon it.”
On team pulling through without him: “I think so. I hope so. I mean I’m going to be there still. I can’t be with them out there on the floor, but I can use my intellect to try to break down film and try to help them see things they might not see, and try to help as much as I can from sideline and from the film room and go from there.”
On knowing about the injury: “Yea…I was just hoping that it wasn’t what I knew it was. Just try and walk it off, hoping that the sensation will come back. No such luck.”
What sensation?: “I had no achilles.”
Next step: “MRI, surgery and then recovery.”
If anyone gets through this, it’s Kobe, right?: “*puts head down and laughs* Right…Shit…I was really tired man. Just tired in the locker room, upset and dejected. Been thinking about this mountain, man. This is a long process. Work hard and just go from there.”
Toughest challenge yet?: “Yea..But you know…It’s fueling me. I can feel it already. It’s just players at this stage of their career pop Achilles and pundits say they never come back the same. So I can hear it already. It’s pissing me off right now.”
So this is not the last game we see you play?: “Really? Really? It’s appropriate that you ask that question from down there.” (Kobe probably implying that if the reporter was closer to him, he would have smacked him.)
Byant is clearly upset, but his willpower has gotten him through a lot of tough times in his career. If anyone can come back and prove the doubters wrong, it’s certainly the Black Mamba.